Ottawa has announced $1.6 million in funding over two years for the Agriculture in Classroom Canada (AITC-C) program. The program will be funded through the AgriCompetiveness Program and will enable AITC-C to offer innovative teaching tools to provide accurate and consistent information on Canadian agriculture.
Canadian youth will be exposed to the importance of farming and the agri-food sector while promoting interest for future careers in agriculture and food.
“We are elevating towards our vision of bringing agriculture to every classroom, inspiring every student,” says Johanne Ross, Executive Director at AITC-C. “AITC-C’s inquiry-based, curriculum-linked resources and programs, delivered through our 10 provincial member organizations, will affect real advancement in the sharing of Canada’s incredible agriculture and food story. This funding will also help us leverage current and new sector partnerships to provide accurate, balanced and current agri-food learning in Canadian schools.”
The $1.6 million in funding increases the program’s annual funding by 50 percent. On top of bringing students up close and personal with Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sector, the funding will also be used to expand upon current and new agriculture awareness tools and initiatives. These include snapAG fact sheets, the Little Green Thumbs school gardening program, the Business of Food teacher training program, Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month, and Journey 2050 virtual presentations.
“It is absolutely essential that young Canadians understand where their food comes from. They must know what farmers’ work consists of and how hard they work to take care of their animals and our environment in order to provide us with high-quality food. I encourage our young people to take an interest in the many job opportunities available to them on farms and in mechanics, electronics and engineering, science, animal and plant health and much more! I applaud the Agriculture in the Classroom Canada team for their outstanding work and celebrate Agriculture Literacy Month with them,” said Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.